Cape Town - Darren Fichardt and Thabang Simon have been rewarded for their success on the 2003/04 Southern Africa PGA Tour Order of Merit with invites to the Nelson Mandela Invitational, which is presented by Coca-Cola.
Each year the Nelson Mandela Invitational reserves two spots in the field for the winner of the South African PGA Tour Order of Merit and the highest-ranking black player.
Fichardt and Simon will tee up amongst a host of celebrities at the spectacular Arabella Country Estate near Hermanus, which hosted the event for the first time last year, from November 25 to 28.
Fichardt claimed the Dimension Data Pro-Am title at Sun City and banked R726 544 for the season to finish well clear of Andrew McLardy, while Simon's R91 651 was enough to place him in 45th.
Courtesy of finishing inside the top 50, Simon gained full exemption on the SA PGA Tour for the 2004/05 season, including the lucrative South African Airways Open and Dunhill Championship, which are both co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
The 2004 season has seen Simon take another successful step forward. He recently returned from a fruitful stint in the United States, where he will return in October to compete in US PGA Tour Qualifying School.
But for the 29-year-old Simon, nothing is quite like playing in an event held in honour of his hero, former South African president Nelson Mandela.
"It's a dream come true for me to play in this event. I've been wishing to play for a long time and I was so happy when I got a call from our commissioner to say I'd been invited," said Simon.
"It's a very special event, especially because Nelson Mandela is involved with his Children's Fund. I met him once before and it would be great to have the chance to shake his hand again. To have my picture taken with Madiba would be very special."
Fichardt said: "It's a great honour and privilege to be asked to attend the Nelson Mandela Invitational. I'm looking forward to playing for such a good cause.
"Winning the final Order of Merit is a major achievement in itself and one that I'm very proud of, particularly when it means I get to play at events such as this. I'm hoping to have a summer like last year to try and defend my title," the double Order of Merit winner added.
The Nelson Mandela Invitational strengthened its status as South Africa's number one sporting charity event at its fourth staging last year by raising well over R2-million over the three days of competition.
Last year's figure of R2,212-million brought the amount raised by the event since its inception in 2000 to well over R7-million - the total split between the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Gary Player Foundation. - Sapa